


pink toes

by frozenasphalt



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Professors, Cat Cafe, Cliche af, Cuddling & Snuggling, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Non-Graphic Smut, Romance, Spooning, i have no clue what this even is, lapslock
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-27
Updated: 2016-11-27
Packaged: 2018-08-27 16:01:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8407861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/frozenasphalt/pseuds/frozenasphalt
Summary: do kyungsoo's default state of being is (ง •̀_•́)ง. after trying to back-hug him one day and getting punched as a result, kyungsoo's bff jongin sends him to a "special group" to help him relax. instead of a yoga class like he'd expected, kyungsoo ends up in the cuddle group of his nightmares. it's there that he meets the owner, one too-cheerful, pink-toed, pastel loving byun baekhyun who is possibly the clingiest person on the planet.





	

**Author's Note:**

> -title taken from the childish gambino song ([x](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAxY4IjoswA)) of the same title.  
> -this story has brief mentions/descriptions of past physical abuse.

no matter how much his best friend jongin swears on it, do kyungsoo isn’t anti-social. in fact, he’s great with people. he’s articulate and unafraid to speak in front of his four hundred plus students who depend on him every day. he enjoys hanging out with his small, but loyal, group of friends after a long work week and just because he doesn’t go speed dating or mack on hot strangers like jongin, doesn’t mean he dislikes people. he  _likes_ people.

it’s human contact that he isn’t so fond of. he’d much rather cuddle his cat than a person and has no relish for skinship. it’s not a germ thing. if he appreciates a person’s company, he feels he shouldn’t need to show it by holding their hand or caressing them, they should just know from the aura he gives off. 

he isn’t a prude, it’s just the way he’s wired, the way he’s always been, even with his family who, as he was growing up, were burdensomely intimate and couldn’t understand why he wasn’t the same. if others see his demeanor as gelid or distant though, that’s their fault, not his.

do kyungsoo isn't anti-social.  

 

“you literally punched me in the ribs for back-hugging you the other day,” jongin groans during their lunch hour. he had begged kyungsoo to accompany him to a new sushi place uptown, but kyungsoo declined in favor of grading papers. their conversation so far had been mostly one-sided; kyungsoo was trying to focus on his work and had been ignoring jongin who always found a way to pout, whine and all around nettle kyungsoo no matter the topic of discussion. kyungsoo often thinks jongin is worse than his mother. "i nearly needed to go to the e.r. and you didn't even bat an eye!"

“it was a knee-jerk reaction,” kyungsoo deadpans, not once glancing up from his papers. “i didn’t know you were there.”

“i live with you? we were watching a movie together when you went to the kitchen to make coffee. i got up two minutes after you because i wanted ramyun.”

“i didn't hear you. i thought you were a burglar or a rapist or something.”

kyungsoo looks up when he gets silence in response from jongin (rare); his friend is eyeing him like he's just murdered a puppy and made him watch. adjusting his glasses, kyungsoo gifts him a smile. "sorry, okay?"

“apology not accepted. you need to chill. you’re so tense all the damn time, i don’t know how you function."

putting his pen down to give his friend his undivided attention at long last, kyungsoo huffs out a breath of air. "me either, to be honest." it's true; the endless barrage of stress that comes along with being a psychology professor for one of the country's most prestigious schools had been eating at him as of late. jongin's his colleague; an english professor with a much more easygoing outlook on things and far better stress management skills.

kyungsoo can see a light bulb flicker on in jongin's head. "hey, i have an idea," he says. "you should try out this special group to help you unwind."

"special group?" kyungsoo parrots, a thick film of skepticism coating his features.

"yeah. i’ll send you the address. my new friend from daegu owns it; he just relocated by that new chinese place uptown. i think it’ll be good for you. i'll send you the address. you don't have to go tomorrow or anything so long as you promise to  _at least_  try it out, okay?"

kyungsoo finds himself sighing again. "okay. promise."

 

kyungsoo glances up from his phone and at the small building in front of him. he looks back down at his phone and then up again, frowns at the neon pink lettering on the sign--"pink toes", it reads. the name sounds wrong but this is definitely the address jongin gave him. he shrugs it off and puts his phone in his pocket, slings his yoga mat over his shoulder and wanders into the building.

once inside, he finds that the place is more packed than he'd expected; all different types of people, from older teens to graying ajummas in spandex are milling around the room, chattering amongst themselves. it seems normal. the only thing kyungsoo finds strange is the fact that there are no yoga mats laid out yet, so he sits his mat to the side and approaches a small group of girls he recognizes as his own students. he greets them and they are giddy with squeals, waving animatedly and drawing attention to him. kyungsoo just smiles; he's more than used to this sort of thing--it doesn’t faze him.

“i never would have expected to see you here, mr. do," one of the girls, rosé, says. "is this your first time?”

“yes, it is. and you?”

“yeah, me too! i’ve never tried anything like this before, but i’m open to new things. it won’t be too weird, i don’t think, so long as everyone at least smells nice, haha.”

jennie butts in. “i heard the instructor is incredibly handsome. like, idol-handsome. that’s the only reason i tagged along. hopefully i can get paired with him first.”

kyungsoo frowns. “wait, this _is_  a yoga class, right?”

“nope. it’s a cuddling group.”

kyungsoo’s stomach plummets. “a…what?”

he’s about to dig his phone from his pocket and bombard jongin with angry, expletive-filled texts when the presumed instructor walks out of the back room and into the sea of people, gripping everyone's attention.

“hello, everyone,” the man says in a sugary voice that matches his face. he’s got impossibly pink, full cheeks as he smiles and even pinker hair, dressed in a rather revealing pastel blue tank-top and gray sweatpants. kyungsoo puffs out his cheeks. his toenails are painted pink as well. “my name is byun baekhyun and i’ll be your instructor this evening! thank you so much for coming out to pink toes where healthy human touch is welcome, but not at all required. let's start with some loosening stretches, shall we?”

following along half-assed, kyungsoo can't help but gawk as baekhyun leads the class through a series of stretches. this guy really  _is_  idol-handsome.

upon completing the last warm up, baekhyun says, "there are freshly washed comforters and blankets on the right side of the room. feel free to take one and set it up wherever you'd like. there are also pillows and stuffed animals available upon request and from here on out, if you'd like to bring your own, it's up to you!"

after setting up, everyone save a few people who have decided to sit indian style in a circle and chat, slot into pairs. baekhyun cordially fights off several eager girls and a few boys vying for his attention before settling down onto the floor with a lanky guy with big ears. and as the room slips into a cuddle-orgy, kyungsoo lingers over by the comforters like his legs are made of lead, scanning the room in horror. a young girl with kind eyes approaches him and introduces herself but kyungsoo misses her name, the voice in his head screaming at him to get the hell out of here all too strident. kyungsoo bows deeply, apologizes to the girl and tells her that he's leaving before bolting towards the door. there’s no way he’s sticking around for this shit.

that’s when he’s stopped by fingers slipping around his wrist and he pivots like a man assaulted, jerks to rip himself out of the flimsy grasp but refrains upon realizing it’s baekhyun. the pink-toed man eyes him with an eyebrow arched in question and a grin on his  _unbelievably_ pink lips.

“leaving so soon?” he asks, voice lilting.

“s-sorry,” kyungsoo peeps. baekhyun's still holding his wrist and kyungsoo is hyperaware of how warm and tingly his fingertips feel against his skin and how the cloying scent of cotton candy seems to radiate from his pores. “i forgot to…feed my cat.” it’s a lie. jongin went home right after work to feed uno. he even sent kyungsoo pictures.

“ooh, i love cats," baekhyun adds, slipping his hand into kyungsoo's like it's the simplest, most natural transition ever. "what’s her name?”

kyungsoo's staring at baekhyun's hand like it's a bomb that may go off between them any second now. “u-uh, it's uno. his name is uno. he's a fat, lazy white manx. we just got him a couple of days ago."

“ah, well, tell uno hi for me." baekhyun gives kyungsoo's hand a squeeze before letting it go. "or maybe i could meet him myself sometime?”

kyungsoo’s mouth drops.

 _smooth as hell_.

“jonginnie has told me quite a lot about you, said you were cute, which is an understatement. could i put my number in your phone?”

kyungsoo fights the urge to turn baekhyun down, naruto-run all the way to his car and never look back. but it's the way baekhyun’s eyes twinkle with sincerity twined with something else kyungsoo can't quite place, that makes kyungsoo wipe off his phone (which he’d been holding like a lifeline in a sweaty palm) and hand it over to baekhyun, who beams and locks in his number before enveloping kyungsoo in a tight koala-hug.

kyungsoo tenses, but doesn’t knee baekhyun in the sac like his brain is commanding him to. instead, he balls his hands up into fists where they're held against baekhyun's chest betwixt their bodies like a threatened kitten. he wants to die. this is so awkward.

“sorry,” baekhyun chortles and he unhands kyungsoo. "force of habit.” he gives his phone back to kyungsoo and wordlessly, kyungsoo gapes at him. “anyways, give me a call! hope to see you again soon!”

 

“kim jongin, what the fuck?!” kyungsoo howls as soon as he opens the front door of his apartment that night.

jongin, who had been fighting a losing battle to stay awake on the couch over a stack of school papers, startles so hard that he knocks his work over onto the rug.

kyungsoo's whole body is thrumming with rage. “you set me up with the owner of a cuddle club?! here i was, thinking your intentions were to help me out, to-to help me "unwind". but really you just wanted to play matchmaker!”

“my intentions  _were_  to help you unwind," jongin explains. "and get laid. which is the same thing, essentially. two birds one stone, and all that.”

“you know i don’t like being set up with randoms! _especially_ randoms like byun baekhyun. that guy was totally creepy.”

“oh, please, you know you think he’s hot.  _i_  think he's hot and i don't even like dick. but i'd suck him dry in a heartbeat. i would turn for him.”

kyungsoo scoffs and scoops uno up from where the manx had been purring at his feet. “firstly, homosexuality isn't like vampirism, you don't just turn after you swap bodily fluids. secondly, if you like him so much, why don't you date him? and okay--he’s hot. he's hot as hell but that’s beside the point. he came on  _way_  too strong and he smelled like cotton candy not to mention he had pink hair? and his toes were painted pink! a grown man with pink toes? that isn’t normal.”

jongin laughs dryly. “c’mon, since when are you into normal, anyway?”

kyungsoo pelts a look at him that’s sharp enough to cut. jongin visibly tenses and deflates after a moment, mulls over how to re-word whatever he was about to say next.

“baekhyun is a catch.”

“if so, why is he so painfully single and desperate to be paired up with strangers?”

“because he’s a busy man who--”

“how busy can the owner of a fucking cuddle club be?” what could he possibly be busy with? knitting sweaters? hugging trees? fisting cabbages? kyungsoo would bet money on baekhyun also being a nudist or some shit. he looks like the type.

groaning, jongin rolls his eyes. kyungsoo hopes they get stuck like that. “like I was saying, he’s a busy man who is ready for a serious relationship  _just_ like you. and he’s amazing so please please  _please_ give him a second chance. i think you two would be  _super_  cute together.”

“i don’t see it working out."

“look, i’m sorry i tricked you. but will you please do this? for me? i’ll come to the next cuddle session with you.”

“...i'll think about it.”

jongin smiles and it's cute enough to coax kyungsoo into smiling, too. “thank you. love you.”

 

after virtually a week and a half of being pestered, kyungsoo caves because jongin refuses to let him live; he bothers him at work as well as at home, manages to bring baekhyun up in every single conversation they have. kyungsoo considers breaking off all forms of communication with jongin altogether, but jongin is as stubborn as kyungsoo is weak. reluctant and bleary, he follows jongin to baekhyun’s class one particularly chilly evening.

baekhyun is addressing the class with brief instructions when they roam in and kyungsoo avoids baekhyun’s eyes, which stay fixed on him the entire time (jongin lets him know this. loudly). everyone pairs off except for baekhyun, who opts to drift around class and dole out pillows, observing and correcting everyone’s posture. kyungsoo makes sure he drags jongin into the corner farthest away from baekhyun, ignoring his friend's cries of protest.

“do you think he’ll be mad at me?” kyugngsoo asks once he's got an armful of jongin. the younger boy is sitting in his lap, head cradled against his chest and arms overlapping his. jongin looks like a big baby but kyungsoo isn't complaining at the moment; he'd much rather be doing this with jongin than a complete stranger. kyungsoo is too preoccupied to complain, anyway, eyes trained on baekhyun's tiny form as he makes his way through the class (even when jongin starts rubbing tickling circles into his skin).

jongin shifts to look at him. “what do you mean?”

“i dunno, what if he asks me why i didn't call him? what if he hates me for it?”

“he doesn't hate you, trust me."

"i have an idea; i'll just tell him that i accidentally deleted his number.”

jongin shakes his head. “who "accidentally" deletes a number? and he'll just wonder why you didn't get it from me, dumbass.”

kyungsoo whacks jongin's arm and is satisfied when he cries out in pain. he's so busy basking in the sound that he doesn't notice baekhyun has made his way towards them, that is, until he sees his pink toes.

"hey, guys," baekhyun greets. "how're we doing over here?"

“oh, we're doing just great, thanks," sings jongin. "say, baekhyun-hyung, do you wanna slide on in here?" he gestures between the space between kyungsoo's body and his own. kyungsoo sinks his nails into jongin's arm so deep he hisses.

baekhyun looks amused. "sure."

"cool, i’m gonna go chat up the girl in the purple yoga pants.” and with that, jongin leaves kyungsoo and baekhyun alone.

there's earsplitting silence between them.

"i have a comforter set up at the front of the room," baekhyun mentions. "be my little spoon?"

kyungsoo blanches. "erm, i-i don't know if--i'm not sure if i'm--"

"you can say no if you want."

"oh. i, um."

"saying no is fine. we discussed it during class--the one you walked out on. if you'd stuck around, you'd know."

ouch. this guy is quick.

kyungsoo follows baekhyun to his comforter, and as they plop down next to one another, kyungsoo appreciates this better than the blanket jongin had brought from home. grinning, baekhyun offers kyungsoo a stuffed animal, a pink bunny that bears an uncanny resemblance to baekhyun and kyungsoo accepts it wordlessly.

"can i rest my head in your lap?" baekhyun asks.

"that's...fine."

and it's the opposite of fine because now baekhyun's head is against his crotch (and how he wishes he'd worn underwear underneath his sweatpants), his large, expectant eyes looking up at him, hair tickling kyungsoo's arm (it's far softer than kyungsoo thought it'd be). and kyungsoo should not be sweating this excessively.

"you're not mad at me?" kyungsoo asks once his heart rate has dwindled.

baekhyun frowns at him, eyebrows threaded and kyungsoo doesn't like this look on him. "why would i be mad at you?"

"i dunno. i never called you like you asked me to."

"of course not. i figured you were just shy." baekhyun pauses and then smirks. "i knew you'd be back, though."

kyungsoo's ears heat up. wow, this guy has more confidence in his pinky than kyungsoo has in his entire body. the smirk on baekhyun's mouth grows cheeky and it's almost offensive as he studies kyungsoo's features; kyungsoo has never felt so transparent. baekhyun shifts in his lap and his hair falls in his eye. kyungsoo wants to brush it away. he doesn't.

"so," baekhyun starts. "when can i take you out on a date?"

 

kyungsoo had wanted to punch himself in the face with spiked brass knuckles for agreeing to go out on a date with baekhyun. despite the preconceived notions he has about people like baekhyun (not that kyungsoo has ever met anyone quite like baekhyun), baekhyun seems to be a nice enough guy and regardless of what jongin thinks, kyungsoo doesn't like being a dick to people for no reason. but he swears to jongin that he isn’t interested in dating baekhyun in the slightest (and he can't figure out if he's trying to convince himself or jongin more); he'll go on this date if to only shut jongin up and afterwards, he'll go back to pretending baekhyun doesn’t exist.

for his own sake, he has to.

 

on a friday after work, baekhyun suggests they go to the movies to see a horror film that ends up not being very scary at all. what scares kyungsoo more is the fact that baekhyun squeezes his hand or holds onto his arm at every jump scare, fingers lingering against him, always searching for his skin, kneading, searing, incessant. baekhyun has got to be the clingiest person on the planet; it's as if he needs human contact lest he catch fire. it's too much. or perhaps baekhyun touches kyungsoo just the amount a person is supposed to on a first date, kyungsoo isn't sure. he hasn't been on a date since his senior year of undergrad school, which seems like forever ago.

once the film is over, they go out to one of the most extravagant restaurants kyungsoo has been to in a while and neither of them are dressed appropriately for this. baekhyun doesn't seem to care much. how much money does this guy make, exactly?

they settle into a booth and baekhyun sits next to kyungsoo instead of across from him. kyungsoo has never seen anyone besides long time lovers do that and he's sweating bullets again.

baekhyun is his complete opposite (“opposites attract,” jongin had told him); it’s a turn off for kyungsoo but baekhyun doesn’t seem to be able to take a hint and still insists on touching him every other minute. kyungsoo is contemplating the most surreptitious way to make an escape when he realizes baekhyun has been saying something to him.

"hm?"

there's a concerned tilde etched in baekhyun's forehead and he places a hand on kyungsoo's leg and squeezes. kyungsoo tries to root his ass to his seat and not slink away. "sorry, i said, are you going to eat that?" he gestures to kyungsoo's unfinished pasta. kyungsoo hasn't touched much on his plate yet at all.

"no; go ahead." in silence, kyungsoo observes as baekhyun gobbles down the remainder of his food. ugh. who picks off another person's plate when they barely know them? it's rude and unsanitary, but kyungsoo can't look away.

"are you okay?" baekhyun asks between a mouthful of his own steak. he's cleared off his plate in record time and there's something oddly satisfying about the way he looks like he savors every bite. kyungsoo notes he has quite the appetite for someone so petite. "you're so quiet."

kyungsoo takes a sip of water to consider an answer that won't come off snappy. he moves to speak but the water goes down the wrong pipe and makes him choke.

baekhyun pats his back. "you're not getting sick, are you? that coat you wore is pretty thin and it's flu season." he reaches to touch his forehead but kyungsoo shies away which makes baekhyun's face drop.

"i'm fine."

"ah, good. anyway, i still have room for more! did you want dessert? i'll order us some drinks as well. all on me."

kyungsoo perks up. he had ordered the cheapest thing on the menu because he always splits the bill on dates, but he never declines sweets or the chance to get buzzed. "yeah, okay."

 

tipsy baekhyun is even more handsy than sober baekhyun and kyungsoo has never gotten (purposely) drunk on a date before, but there's a first time for everything. it may be necessary at this point if he's going to power through this.

kyungsoo's three sangrias in, alcohol coursing through him, loosening the tension he'd been gathering in his muscles since the start of all this, when he decides he doesn't mind the way baekhyun keeps caressing his arm, or how he's lacing their fingers together. he quite likes baekhyun's dimpled smiles and the way he laughs too thunderingly and then scans the area around him to make sure he hasn't disturbed anyone, only to laugh louder.

it comes as a pleasant surprise to kyungsoo that baekhyun is as much of a eighties kid as he is. they bond over the highlights of the decade, mostly cult classic films, but then baekhyun mentions that he still owns an atari 5200 and madonna's junior album,  _true blue_  on cassette which may just make drunk kyungsoo fall for him a bit. and he can't help but briefly wonder if baekhyun had spoken to jongin about him to learn all of the things he likes in advance. kyungsoo thinks he'd be okay with that, even still and maybe this date isn't as much of a nightmare as kyungsoo had initially dubbed it to be.

as the waitress serves them their second round of dessert, some sort of chocolate mousse, baekhyun's phone vibrates.

"ahh, it's my dauennie," baekhyun squeaks. "i have to take this." he accepts the facetiming request and a tiny, sleepy looking girl pops up on the screen. she's got an entire carton of cookies splayed out in front of her, wearing a hello kitty onesie, a milk mustache and a huge smile.

"daddy!" she shouts and kyungsoo all but deep-throats his forkful of mousse (baekhyun doesn't notice, thank  _god_ ).

"daeunnie! how are you? daddy misses you more than you can imagine. i can't wait to see you this weekend. wait, why are you up? isn't it past bedtime? did you steal mommy's phone again?"

daeun lowers her head and nods. "i couldn't sleep. i was soooo hungwy." she pouts and baekhyun chuckles. kyungsoo's heart is doing strange things.

they make chit chat for a while and kyungsoo doesn't miss the way baekhyun is beaming. kyungsoo focuses on finishing his mousse but his heart still feels weird, like it's too big for his chest. he blames it on the alcohol.

"this is my friend, kyungsoo," baekhyun tells daeun after a few minutes. he leans into kyungsoo's side so that he's also in the picture. "say goodnight to him."

daeun smiles, her eyes turning into two little twinkling crescent moons and she's the spitting image of baekhyun. she puts up a peace sign and waves it at kyungsoo. "goodnight!"

"sleep tight," kyungsoo says between chuckles, waving back.

"okay baby, daddy's going now. i'll talk to you tomorrow. try not to get mommy's iphone screen too sticky and go to bed soon! goodnight." with that, baekhyun ends the facetime session and puts his phone aside, content smile plastered on his face.

"holy skittles, she looks just like you," kyungsoo comments. "i never would have pegged you as a father."

"why's that?"

"i don't know. you just don't look like a dad."

"i'll take that as a compliment."

kyungsoo grins. "how old is she?"

"she'll be four in may. i would have thought jongin told you i had a daughter." and it clicks in kyungsoo's mind that  _this_  is what jongin meant when he said baekhyun was a busy man. "does it bother you?"

"no, not at all. i love kids. i have hoards of little cousins and i worked as a babysitter throughout high school even though my friends made fun of me for it. it was rewarding."

baekhyun stares at kyungsoo and cocks his head to the side.

"...what?"

"sorry, it's just that the mental image is too cute to handle. i bet you'd look adorable with kids."

 

kyungsoo loses count of how many drinks have been consumed between the two of them. but soon, everything baekhyun says becomes hilarious to kyungsoo and that's when he surmises he's had too much (baekhyun's dad jokes are not funny no matter how much he swears they are).

"i should g-get home," kyungsoo slurs after his head spins so violently he sees flecks of white.

"right. let's go, then."

on their way out of the restaurant, kyungsoo staggers and bumbles down the street like a fawn and collides with a large man who looks like he wants to pimp-slap him to mars, almost falling face first into the concrete. but baekhyun catches him and they both break out into laughter as baekhyun links their arms together and guides kyungsoo along because he is far less besotted.

baekhyun calls a cab and kyungsoo lets him wrap his arms around his waist and snuggle against him while they wait (only because it's cold. his hands would not be lingering on baekhyun's ass if he was sober).

"i had a really fun time tonight," baekhyun comments, nuzzling his face into kyungsoo's chest, inhaling his scent. he looks up and after a moment of studying kyungsoo's features, they lock eyes. kyungsoo doesn't understand how a full grown adult man can have cheeks this pink and round and cute. he wants to bite them.

"same here." kyungsoo garbles. drunk kyungsoo is glad it isn't a lie.

it's also drunk kyungsoo that presses his lips to baekhyun's, kisses him till baekhyun's mouth is puffy and his breath is coming out in white wisps, does it again until his cab arrives. 

"see you soon?" baekhyun asks as they part, looking even more kissable than he did prior.

"yeah."

 

the next morning, kyungsoo wakes up to a hangover (he's cursing at himself because he has to teach a class in an hour) and a text from baekhyun.

**byun baekhyun**

**[6:08]**

**taking daeun to a cat cafe this sunday. tag along?**

kyungsoo has never said yes so fast.

 

the last time kyungsoo had been on a proper first date, it had gone nothing like this one. 

his now ex-boyfriend, kris wu had dragged him to an interactive haunted house on a bet three years ago.

"my cousin served in the american military, was deployed to iraq and even  _he_  said the interactive haunted house was shit-inducing," kris had told kyungsoo as he walked him home from class. "bet you couldn't last five minutes."

kyungsoo was up to the challenge. "fifty bucks says i make it till the end."

"you're on."

kyungsoo had been too ballsy. he  _had_  nearly shat himself; he hadn't made it until the end, had run out screaming as soon as one of the actors who'd been torturing him put a live cockroach down his shirt. he considered himself fortunate; he'd escaped with only a scrape on his cheek and a couple bruises (if he didn't count the psychological trauma). despite being in far worse shape (he was covered in fake blood and bruises twice the size of kyungsoo's), kris had exited the haunted house with poise and a shit-eating grin. kyungsoo was out of fifty dollars and his sense of pride but he had scored a makeout session and a hot, adrenaline fueled blowjob from kris. the excitement was refreshing amidst his stuffy college schedule and looking back, he concludes it wasn't the most normal first date.

but kris and kyungsoo were similar; a little brooding, opposed to most forms of skinship and intimidating at first glance. kris also loved animals and could get the loudest of anyone kyungsoo knew when discussing something he loved. and though his smiles were rare, kyungsoo felt like the luckiest person alive to be on the receiving end of them.

"i don't like him," jongin had declared after kyungsoo proudly showed off the bruises he had acquired from the haunted house experience. "he's weird! but not in like, a quirky, cute way. more in a serial killer-who-definitely-keeps-body-parts-in-his-fridge kind of way. i mean, who takes their crush to something like that on their first date and kisses slash blows them while covered in fake blood?" 

kyungsoo thought kris was misunderstood. he could relate to that more than anyone. "well, it doesn't matter what you think, because i'm dating him now and nothing you say will change my mind."

kyungsoo hadn't listened to jongin back then.

he should have.

 

 

jongin is in the bathroom brushing his teeth when kyungsoo barges in, ass naked, and announces he's going to take a shower. he goes to pee first.

"what the hell?" jongin whines around a mouthful of toothpaste. "do we not have the basic decency to  _knock_  on doors anymore in this house? or wear pants, for that matter? like, why am i looking at your dick right now?"

"i kissed him."

"huh?"

"baekhyun. i kissed him and it was better than i expected."

jongin's jaw drops to the floor. "wait, _you_ , do kyungsoo, initiated a kiss with someone? that shit is unheard of. the date must've been amazing as hell, i take it?"

"why didn't you tell me he has a kid?"

"why does it matter? you go gaga over kids."

"yeah, but you could have  _told_  me."

jongin clicks his tongue, rinses off his toothbrush and flicks the excess water at kyungsoo's bare ass. kyungsoo shivers and hisses and jongin laughs at him as he watches kyungsoo turn on the shower head. "would you just answer my original question?"

"eh? what was it, again? i forgot."

"do you listen to me at all, ever? i asked, was the date amazing? did you feel fireworks when your lips touched his? did the gay heavens part and shine down on you both? tell me; i'll die if you don't!"

kyungsoo purses his lips. "your dramatic ass watches too many disney movies. and to be honest, i don't remember much of it. he's still too clingy for my tastes but i got drunk and i think it was a bit more tolerable?"

"a true gentleman never gets drunk on first dates," jongin reprimands.

kyungsoo steps into the shower and it seems jongin is joining him because he peels off his pajamas and proceeds to climb in with him. "why not?"

"because it makes you seem like a cunt-biscuit. and like a raging alcoholic."

"would you get off me already? i did what you asked. what's more, i even agreed to go on a second date."

" _no shit_."

"yeah. i'm meeting his kid this sunday, so--" jongin whoops so loudly in kyungsoo's ears that he jumps out of his skin and almost slips and cracks his skull open in the tub. he glowers at jongin who whips him around by the shoulders and starts lathering him up with soap. kyungsoo simmers in silence and lets his best friend wash his back.

"i promise you won't regret this!"

kyungsoo needs jongin to be right.

 

sunday rolls around quicker than kyungsoo anticipates and his nerves don't hit him until forty minutes before the date. he spends too much time being finicky about his hairstyle before he decides to throw a cap on, bundles uno up in a silly little red sweater and matching paw-socks that jongin had bought, and drives to meet baekhyun and his daughter at the cat café.

baekhyun and daeun are already seated when he arrives and baekhyun greets him with a hug and a kiss on the cheek from which kyungsoo shies away, but if baekhyun is offended, he doesn't make it apparent; his attention is stolen by uno. he coos over uno's attire and cuddles the cat before reintroducing kyungsoo to daeun. today, she is clad in the most adorable no face spirited away hoodie, her bangs in her eyes, hair curling against her chubby cheeks. kyungsoo greets her with a handshake that transfers chocolate from the cat-shaped cookie she had been devouring onto his fingers, but he doesn't mind because she giggles adorably and calls him handsome.

baekhyun places an order for two coffees with cream and when they arrive, kyungsoo thinks that the cream, also in the shape of a kitty, is too cute to ruin. they sit and make small talk as daeun makes friends with a tiny, orange tabby cat with a big personality, baekhyun snapping pictures every now and again. kyungsoo watches the fluffiest himalayan he's ever seen ball up in a pitched roof nap-house that's mounted on the wall, and is tempted to pet the cluster of cats frolicking around him, but uno glues his fat ass in kyungsoo's lap the entire time as if to say, 'you'd  _better not_  give your affection to these other cats'.

after much persuasion, baekhyun crawls over to play with daeun and her orange friend at a yarn-ball station, and kyungsoo smiles as he watches the three of them interact. the fact that baekhyun is such a good father makes kyungsoo's heart melt into a pile of honey. 

they spend the better part of the day at the café and kyungsoo doesn't notice the sun has gone down until daeun starts to yawn without hitch. the three-year-old snivels when her mother, a stunning woman named taeyeon, comes to pick her up, not because she's saddened to leave baekhyun, but because she can't bring tiger (her tabby friend) home with her. her parents chuckle and pacify her with an order of warm milk.

after daeun and taeyeon have gone, baekhyun turns to kyungsoo and asks, "do you want to come back to my place?"

 

baekhyun's apartment is the antithesis of what kyungsoo would expect a single father in the city to inhabit. it's quaint but well furnished and decorated like an eighteen-year-old girl's dorm room, reflecting baekhyun's taste and personality in bright colors and loud patterns. kyungsoo has never seen so many flower-patterned pillows or bubble gum scented candles in his life and he wonders if the stuffed animals dotted in nearly every corner belong to him, daeun or a mixture of the two. 

kyungsoo is cemented to the couch, investing himself in an episode of a drama he's never heard of and waiting for baekhyun to return from the kitchen where he's mixing nonalcoholic drinks. not long after the protagonist confesses her love to her dying friend, baekhyun emerges with the drinks, hands one to kyungsoo and he makes a face upon taking a sip. it's too sweet, much like baekhyun's laughter as kyungsoo sticks his tongue out at him in distaste. poking kyungsoo in the side, baekhyun slots against him.

"daeun is the cutest," kyungsoo says. he tries not to stiffen up too much because of the sudden physical contact. "you two seem extremely close."

"we are. we weren't always, though, if you can believe it."

"what? no way."

baekhyun scratches his nose. "yeah, she didn't like me when she was a baby. it was harder to take care of her because she favored her mother; daeunnie would scream for her mom constantly. i'd like to think i've won her back now, though."

"what happened? i mean, why aren't you and daeun's mother together anymore?" baekhyun raises an eyebrow at him and kyungsoo gulps. "uh, sorry if that's an intrusive question."

"no, it's fine. taeyeon and i dated for a good two years before she got pregnant with daeun. it was completely unplanned and she realized in her second trimester that she didn't love me as anything more than a friend. it was a relief, in a way, because i felt similarly. we could have stayed together for daeun's sake, but we were both unhappy and stressed, which wasn't the best environment to raise a child in. so we split, settled on shared custody and decided raising daeunnie in two happy households was better than raising her in a miserable one. her mother and i are better friends because of it, i think. i owe taeyeon a lot because she gave me the greatest gift of my life." baekhyun smiles widely. "i love daeunnie more than i love myself; even if she  _does_  like to eat all my chocolate and paint my toenails pink."

kyungsoo blinks and doesn't know why his eyelashes feel damp. "wow. that's admirable."

"ah," baekhyun breathes, averting kyungsoo 's gaze. "you're just saying that."

"no, seriously. a lot of men would have ran away from an unplanned child outside of wedlock."

baekhyun’s eyes meet kyungsoo's again and there's a doleful, beseeching glint in them. "then they weren't men to begin with."

kyungsoo's heart thrashes against his chest. a wave of emotions inundates him at once, too mighty, pushes at him till he's swooping in to steal a kiss from baekhyun. he swallows the sound baekhyun makes as he's pinned under kyungsoo and kyungsoo pulls away, hovers over him for a moment with a hand cupping his cheek only to dip down for another kiss, needy but languid, aware and inquisitive.

baekhyun uses both hands to grip at the exposed skin of kyungsoo's hipbones, recoils to look at him in silent question and after a minute, kyungsoo nods.

kyungsoo doesn't do this. he doesn't let almost-strangers guide him to their bedroom in quiet anticipation. he doesn't permit people to strip him on second dates, run greedy hands over the guarded planes of his body, leaving flames of unspoken promises in their wake. he definitely wouldn't dick just anyone down like this, face to face, slow but deep and  _infuriating_. he's not even chasing his own orgasm anymore, but the need to see the pleasure etched on baekhyun's face as he's fucked thoroughly and comes with a gasp of kyungsoo's name. and he'd never let anyone hold him this closely, whisper ungodly things until he finishes inside of them.

baekhyun is the exception.

 

it's after their seventh date that kyungsoo realizes he should have never made exceptions.

baekhyun has entrenched upon kyungsoo's life in every way; barged in unabashed, right through the front door so hard that it's come off its hinges. he stops by kyungsoo's lecture halls with flowers for no other reason than because he  _wants_  to and makes kyungsoo blush in front of his students (he brings him gifts so often they start to ask if baekhyun is his sugar daddy. kyungsoo is unsure of how to answer). he shows up uninvited to cook kyungsoo and jongin dinner, even has a little drawer of stuff in kyungsoo's room (which jongin had been happier about than kyungsoo).

kyungsoo  _knows_  baekhyun isn't trying to be forward or pushy on purpose. he's like this by nature and kyungsoo understands how bad it can feel when people try to uproot him from his own ways, so he doesn't say anything to baekhyun about it. he doesn't want to hurt him, so he decides to endure it.

he can't let jongin down; his friend becomes a mess of giggles whenever he watches baekhyun and kyungsoo together, waggling his eyebrows every time baekhyun steals kyungsoo away from him during cuddle group and wraps his arms around his waist possessively.

not now.

 

kyungsoo is beginning to feel suffocated.

baekhyun is  _too_  open and honest, so much so that it makes kyungsoo feel like shit in a way he can’t help. he can no longer stand baekhyun's pastel wardrobe and frequent twinkly eyes and smiles that remind him of staring directly at the sun. rainbows and sunshine follow baekhyun everywhere he goes and kyungsoo can’t wrap his head around why or  _how_  anyone could be this perpetually happy. he’s a perfect gentleman, a perfect father and sweeter than the sickeningly thick icing kyungsoo’s mom would slap on his birthday cakes as a kid that he'd gorge on even though he knew he'd later regret it. kyungsoo hates it.

kyungsoo doesn't hate baekhyun. he appreciates that he is even interested in him, admires his parenting skills and his ability to command a room better than kyungsoo, who practiced doing so for nearly seven years, is able to. the way baekhyun kisses and the way he fucks are probably amongst his top five favorite things ever (and maybe that’s the reason he’s keeping him around).

kyungsoo hates himself for a hoard of reasons he hasn't been able to deal with since he stopped seeing his therapist in college. he has a doctorate in psychology and can't even understand his own mind; sometimes he thinks he should reconsider making appointments.

it bothers him.

he doesn't do anything about it.

 

one day, baekhyun prods too deeply.

"you aren't the fondest of skinship, are you?" he inquires while they're watching the breakfast club (for the third time together) on the couch, baekhyun's head resting on kyungsoo's shoulder, a hand on his thigh. jongin had gone out to romance his new girlfriend, soojung with the purple yoga pants, and left them with the place for the weekend. "i mean, you seem less tense than you were when we met. upon being on the receiving end of it, at least. but you don't really initiate it or reciprocate it for that matter."

"is it that obvious?"

"glaringly so. but why?"

"i just don't like it. with anyone. not even jongin who i've known since we were just snotty nosed high school kids."

baekhyun frowns. "but i'm your boyfriend."

kyungsoo pecks him on the mouth to shut him up. "keep asking me dumb questions, and i'll have to change that."

"ah, i see how it is," baekhyun chuckles. "so you're telling me you don't like it when i do this?" baekhyun pulls kyungsoo down by the collar and kisses him hard, climbs into his lap and tugs open his shirt, pressing his fingers underneath, against kyungsoo's belly. "or this?" baekhyun runs his free hand up kyungsoo's thigh, toward his crotch and cups him through his jeans, then straddles him and dots kisses down his neck.

mildly annoyed, kyungsoo nudges him away half assed, doesn't really want him to stop. he's mad that baekhyun is teasing him but he is  _oh_  so weak to this. "baekhyun. baek, _please_."

with a giggle, baekhyun shifts, brushes tickling fingers up the back of kyungsoo's neck towards the short hair there and pulls lightly, slotting their mouths together. but kyungsoo breaks it off, swats his hand away and glares at him, his mind reeling.

"what? is your neck sensitive?" baekhyun asks, tone teasing. he tugs at kyungsoo's hair again, harder this time and kyungsoo loses it.

"get out," kyungsoo shouts, pushing baekhyun away and getting out from underneath him.

"w-wha--? look, kyungsoo i'm sorry. i was just kidding around."

"i want you to leave.  _now_."

 

subsequently, kyungsoo shuts baekhyun off. like many things, it doesn't faze kyungsoo as much as it should. he isn't anti-social. but he has become an expert at pushing away everyone who has attempted to get too close to him in the past couple of years.

it’s for the best, he tells himself.

he can’t get hurt again.

he won't get hurt again.

 

kyungsoo doesn’t confide in jongin about what happened between him and baekhyun like he usually would. but nothing stays hidden from jongin for long as far as kyungsoo's concerned; he has a nose like a guard dog trained to sniff out kyungsoo's unhappiness. kyungsoo assumes he finds out about the fight from baekhyun. jongin tries to convince kyungsoo to just talk to baekhyun. kyungsoo refuses.

five days drag by and kyungsoo contemplates whether or not he should change his phone number; baekhyun has left him enough messages to compile and sell a melodramatic audio book.

"i overstepped, and i'm sorry. but you need to talk to me, baby. i--"

kyungsoo transfers the message to his trash bin with the rest.

 

"baekhyun is leaving," jongin informs kyungsoo over the phone as kyungsoo watches snowflakes dance down from the sky. kyungsoo had been avoiding his friend lately, taking long drives to coffee shops out of town even though the one across the street from their house is his favorite. "he's packing up and going back to daegu in a week."

the news comes as a shock to kyungsoo. he doesn't give jongin any indication of that. "good. let him go."

"he wants to apologize. he's hurting and confused and i know you are, too, even if you are an expert at pretending like nothing affects you. can you please just go to pink toes tomorrow evening and talk to him?"

kyungsoo hangs up on jongin without giving him an answer.

 

"have you been fucking avoiding me? really?" jongin scolds. it's one a.m. and kyungsoo had tried to be quiet as possible whilst sneaking home after a night of heavy drinking with friends and dodging jongin all day, but jongin was already waiting for him at the door, arms crossed and foot tapping like a suspicious wife. he's scowling, trying to look intimidating but he's wearing purple pajamas with hearts all over them, a matching head band in his hair and kyungsoo finds it impossible to take his friend seriously. he just titters at him.

"do kyungsoo, i am not playing around right now. i called you six times tonight! you could have at least texted me back. i've been worried! baekhyun has been--"

kyungsoo shushes jongin by pressing a finger to his mouth, spitting all over the place in the process. "don't say that name. it's illegal in this house from now on. i-lle-gal."

"seriously," jongin sighs as kyungsoo stumbles over to the couch without taking off his shoes, plops down like a dying fish. "you can talk to me!" he helps take off kyungsoo's shoes, then sits down beside him. "what's wrong?"

"nothin'. everythin'."

"you're gonna have to elaborate a lil' more than that, my guy."

"shh. too noisy. sleep now."

jongin tuts. it's silent for a moment and kyungsoo closes his eyes, lets himself get serenaded by sirens swimming in alcohol until jongin's voice is pulling him awake.

"just know that i understand how hard it is for you. after kris, you shut yourself off and rightfully so, but--"

kyungsoo shoots up, suddenly feeling sobered. "shut the hell up. this discussion is over, got it?"

 

jongin has only ever meant the best for kyungsoo. he's been by his side since day one when no one else cared, and fighting with him has always made kyungsoo feel further away from himself. he doesn't like to avoid running into jongin in their own house, evading conversation or declining eating breakfast together with lies that he's late for class when they both know he isn't.

their fights never last long, though, and they're making jokes about it just a couple of days later. kyungsoo is relieved jongin doesn't hate him and they both decide to sweep everything under the rug.

still, kyungsoo feels like shit.

 

he decides to take jongin's advice after much deliberation and nights with so little sleep that his boss pulls him into his office and questions if he's been eating regularly. he hasn't.

kyungsoo doesn't want bad blood between him and baekhyun forever. baekhyun is far too benign to receive treatment so malignant; kyungsoo is determined to accept baekhyun's apology face to face like a man and that will be the end of it.

at the last minute, kyungsoo buys a fruit basket as a parting gift, a peace offering, but it doesn't make him feel any better. and once he finally heaves himself to pink toes, he finds baekhyun cleaning up for the night. it takes a while for baekhyun to realize kyungsoo is standing behind him, and he jumps upon seeing kyungsoo's reflection in the mirror, eyes saucers as he whips around.

"god, you startled me," baekhyun says, a hand over his heart, breathless. "what are you doing here?" without words, kyungsoo extends the fruit basket. baekhyun looks confounded. "what's this for?"

kyungsoo's arms drop and he picks at the plastic covering on the basket. "it's a parting gift."

"huh? a parting gift for what?"

"i...thought you were leaving? moving back to daegu?"

"no. who told you that? was it jongin? because he's been acting super--"

the sound of tapping resonates on the glass window to their left and they look over to see jongin jangling baekhyun's building keys and cackling like the little imp he is on the other side of the glass. an unwilling accomplice to his evil deeds, soojung just shakes her head beside him, shooting kyungsoo a look that says, "sorry he's like this."

"i refuse to let you two leave this building until you've kissed and made up," jongin shouts at them. "so kiss and make up, dammit!" with that, he and soojung walk outside.

blood roiling, kyungsoo retrieves his phone out of his jacket pocket and starts dialing.

"what are you doing?"

"calling the cops on jongin's dumb ass." baekhyun puts a hand on his wrist to stop him.

"just talk to me, okay?"

 

kyungsoo watches baekhyun lay out a sky blue comforter covered in cartoon-ish clouds. they sit down a few feet away from each other and it's silent for too long, the only sound the grating buzz of the heater.

"sorry," they both say at once. it breaks up some of the tension in the air and kyungsoo's mouth quirks up into a smile when baekhyun looks at him like a deer in the headlights.

"i would tell you to go first but you've said all that you needed to over the dozens of messages i deleted," kyungsoo says. "i shouldn't have ignored you. that was childish."

baekhyun lends him a small smile but his eyes are dead. "yes, but i shouldn't have hounded you like that. i was just worried. that look on your face, it made me feel so guilty, i..i didn't like being the cause of it."

"it's nothing you did, really. you were just goofing around. it's me, i..." kyungsoo inhales deeply, his heart stuttering on the exhale. "i was feeling a bit boxed in because of my own insecurities and i took it out on you. certain things remind me of him and the feeling i get is impossible to shake most times. it's hard to control and i--"

"him who?"

"hm?"

"you said, 'certain things remind me of him'. who do you mean?"

"oh," kyungsoo sighs after a moment of biting nervously at his fingernail. "my ex, kris. he was my first serious boyfriend and i thought i loved him. i  _did_  love him. maybe that's why i let it go on for so long."

"let _what_ go on?"

when kyungsoo doesn't answer, just hangs his head low, baekhyun scoots nearer to him. kyungsoo runs a hand through his short hair, tries to focus less on how his heart knocks against his chest and more on his breathing. he pulls his knees into his chest and rests his forehead on them. he must look like such a child right now.

"kyungsoo, please talk to me," baekhyun begs and the concern and desperation in his voice make kyungsoo shudder. baekhyun's words vibrate when he next speaks. "...what did he _do_ to you?"

at a turtle's pace, kyungsoo slides a shaky arm towards baekhyun, places his hand over his even though it's sweaty. he steels himself, finally looks up from his lap and up to the ceiling to blink back the tears that have begun to swell up in his eyes. he counts to ten and breathes. he needs to do this.

"he hit me." it takes him what feels like hours to say those three words. he still can't bear to look at baekhyun who squeezes his fingers. "for a good six months out of the year we were together. he was never a gentleman, always a bit rugged, but i was drawn to that. we always had this cat and mouse way of teasing each other to see what buttons we could press without the other going off. we got into arguments a lot but usually it just ended in rough sex. until one night, when we had just gotten home from a dinner party with friends. we were both a bit drunk. kris accused me of flirting with a guy that i hadn't even remembered talking to. he wouldn't let up with the accusations. he punched me in the face when i stood up for myself. i had a bruise the size of china on my cheek the next day and when he saw it, he burst into tears and wouldn't stop apologizing. i'd never seen him like that before, so i forgave him, went on like it never happened. i even tried to hide it from my friends with shitty make up, but jongin noticed. i told him i'd given it to myself, while opening a cabinet. he bought it. i was so... _proud_  of my lie. things went back to normal until i did something else that set kris off, i don't remember what. he was quick to anger. all i can recall is that he had scissors in his hands, the image of that is still so vivid. he threatened me with them and i remember actually fearing for my life, screaming for help and trying to run away, but he grabbed me by the back of my hair, which i kept long back then, pulled me back, slapped me down. he cut a lock of my hair so close to the scalp it bled. said he'd kill me if i told anyone, so i stayed quiet, shaved my head and have kept it short ever since. the beatings occurred almost weekly after that, so frequent i became accustomed to them. til i felt deserving of them. instilling fear was his game and he excelled at it. he'd make me terrified then soothe me with kindness and materialistic gifts and i just let him. for six fucking months i just...let him."

the weight of two years of self-loathing and shame feels like it's being hefted from kyungsoo's chest, only to crash into him again and he doesn't want to cry now, not in front of baekhyun, but he can't stop his tears from flowing.

"that's why i freaked out when you pulled my hair," kyungsoo explains. "but it was really just another reason to push you away--i'd wanted to since we met but i felt bad because you're so nice. i don't deserve the way you look at me, the way you touch me and--"

baekhyun wraps kyungsoo up in his arms and holds him tight. kyungsoo doesn't go lax or stiffen up, instead hugs him back even tighter, chasing his warmth and well meaning of which he has too long been devoid.

kyungsoo doesn't notice that baekhyun is crying too until he feels a dampness against his shoulder.

"there aren't enough words to express how sorry i am that he put you through that," baekhyun says. "but please know that you are worth so much more than the pain and suffering you endured because of him."

and kyungsoo realizes he's needed this, the safety in baekhyun's words, the sense of belonging in his touch. he clings to it, sand to wet skin, a drowning man to his only life raft.

they kiss and it's gross; both of their tears taste salty and kyungsoo's nose is running but baekhyun doesn't seem to mind. kyungsoo whispers a series of thank yous against baekhyun's lips, can't help but feel fiercely gratified. they part and baekhyun shoots a smile at him and despite the fact that there are still tears pouring downs his cheeks, kyungsoo returns it, laughing airily in relief.

baekhyun is the only person besides jongin and his mother who he has shared this with, and that simple fact makes them that much closer.

"be my little spoon?" kyungsoo asks.

baekhyun pauses for a moment, taken aback, then beams, wiping at kyungsoo's tears with his fingers. "of course."

they fall asleep that way on baekhyun's comforter, floating in the sky, their bodies not quite touching but close enough that kyungsoo can smell baekhyun's cotton candy shampoo. and it's good enough. for the both of them.

 

(kyungsoo and baekhyun are awoken by the sound of a camera shutter and voices. they find jongin standing over them, snapping pictures with his iphone and sobbing grossly, soojung hitting him on the arm, telling him that he's creepy.)

 

time trudges by and baekhyun decides to give kyungsoo "space". kyungsoo finds it thoughtful and knows baekhyun has his best interest at heart, but after only being able to call and text baekhyun for almost two weeks, he comes to the conclusion that he absolutely despises this.

"just give it a few more days," baekhyun tells him over facetime on a lonely tuesday evening. the sky is lamenting for kyungsoo, playing a somber song against his window pane because baekhyun is sprawled out on his own bed, over-sized pastel green sweater hanging off his shoulder, exposing his clavicle instead of in bed with kyungsoo. kyungsoo is marking exams but he wants to be marking baekhyun's chest with hickies, dammit. "i don't want us to rush back into anything if you aren't ready."

"but i _am_ ready. i miss you. i'm a dumbass. this is all my fault and maybe i deserve this, but--"

"a few more days. promise."

it's hell; kyungsoo's heart feels beaten black and blue, a bloody mess--he can't take it. despite being told not to, he drives to baekhyun's house and throws pebbles at his window like some twisted romeo with stubbier legs. baekhyun just frowns and shakes his head at kyungsoo through the glass, refusing to let him in.

over the course of the past few weeks, he hasn't run into baekhyun anywhere, not even at pink toes where an uninterested-looking older woman is teaching the class in baekhyun's place while baekhyun spends extra time with daeun. and jongin is a traitor who has taken baekhyun's side and won't tell him anything, so kyungsoo turns to his last resort.

he stalks taeyeon on social media and messages her, asking if she knows where baekhyun is. she replies forthwith, informs him that daeun had just called her from the supermarket to ask her permission to eat a brownie sample. kyungsoo thanks her, indebts his life to her, jumps in his car and speeds to the supermarket like his life depends on it in hopes that they haven't left yet.

kyungsoo must look insane, dashing around the store in search for baekhyun like the road runner from looney toons, ducking around corners and almost colliding with innocent shoppers on multiple occasions. he's sure an employee has yelled at him to stop running, but he doesn't have time for that now. he's begun to lose hope on his second sweep of the entire store when a voice pulls him back to reality.

"soo? did you stalk me here?" baekhyun's got daeun on his hip, a basket on his arm, eyeing kyungsoo over the top of his glasses. he's wearing another over-sized sweater, a pink turtleneck paired with light-wash blue jeans and  _gosh_  he's cute.

kyungsoo is wheezing. "no. your old man schedule is just so predictable, i knew you'd either be here or at home, you lump."

baekhyun looks gorgeous, even underneath this garish grocery store lighting. "you talked to taeyeon, didn't you." it's less of a question and more of an accusation. 

"so what if i did?"

"unbelievable. my ex-boyfriend and my baby mama, conspiring in secret." there's a teasing swing to his voice but the words "ex-boyfriend" still smart.

kyungsoo doesn't know what overcomes him in that moment, but he's got a desperate need to hug baekhyun (and daeun) so he does, smack dab in the middle of the cereal aisle, knocking down a display in the process. he ignores the collision of carts and angry bawls he's caused in favor of kissing baekhyun breathless.

"i love you," kyungsoo declares once they've resurfaced for air. "please take me back."

pink in the cheeks, baekhyun looks enamored. "glad to, you over-sized baby."

 

kyungsoo is doing the best he can to finish up daeun's job of painting baekhyun’s toes (daeun had fallen asleep midway and now she's snoring softly on the couch). they're sat on the living room floor, baekhyun's feet in kyungsoo's lap, and kyungsoo is still not one hundred percent okay with full on cuddling, still flicks baekhyun in the forehead each time he gets too touchy-feely. and baekhyun has made a thoughtful effort to keep the skinship to a minimum (it always looks like it physically pains him to do so, though).

this is a step forward, and it's nice that kyungsoo can impart his discomforts and comforts on baekhyun. and that's what this is. comfortable. kyungsoo cares for baekhyun greatly, even when he insists on painting kyungsoo’s nails a sky blue.

"daeunnie will love it," baekhyun whispers, pointing to a dribbling daeun.

and kyungsoo would be an absolute monster to say no to that face.

**Author's Note:**

> -i was kinda inspired by this buzzfeed video: ([x](https://youtu.be/kkk1JtadReg))  
> -i wrote this in like a day which may explain why it's so...........Bad rip  
> -but yea if u liked this, pls come send me prompts on tumblr @frozenasphalt!!!  
> 


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